Curbed - Curbed is a blog focused on real estate -- its list of links includes real estate agents and ways to look at apartment listings. Its homepage has a map of Manhattan, which ends at the top of Central Park, divided into 11 neighborhoods. Each one has its own blog, covering a broad array of subjects it squeezes into the "real estate" category.
Gothamist - Gothamist describes itself as "a website about New York City and everything that happens in it." Daily postings comment on an eclectic mix of what the Gothamist staff found important that day -- from reports about the West Side Stadium to reviews of Kabuki theater. And when the site says everything, it means it -- there's even a sports page and a blog about the weather.
Manhattan Users Guide - Find something to do in NYC with this guide.
Gawker - Gawker, a media gossip blog whose beat is New York's hipster crowd, publishes dozens of snarky entries daily. The site has arguably moved beyond blogdom -- it now has ads, personals, and other things that give it the appearance of a serious operation (nothing like personal ads to make people take you seriously). Time magazine recently referred to the site as "among the most corrosively witty sites on the Web," but adds that in becoming so "they've lost their amateur status forever."
The Politicker - The New York Observer's blog is run by the paper's staff writer, Ben Smith. He gives regular updates on the kind of insider politics that the paper specializes in. A New York Times article on local political blogs during the 2005 campaign called this the most widely-read blog by the candidates.
Brian's Blog - This blog serves as an accompaniment to WNYC's well-respected Brian Lehrer show. The content is a mix of what's going on in the city's politics and what's going on on the radio show. So one entry recaps Lehrer's interview with Jared Diamond, who recently wrote a book about why civilizations fail, and the next one examines how the city is letting the subways fail. The blog also serves as a highlight reel of listener comments.
The Political itCH - The political itCH (the CH is for City Hall), is a report on what's being written about NYC politics in the city's papers. Bob Hardt of NY1 squeezes it all into a narrative and throws in a bit of his own color each weekday.
The Gutter - The Gutter is a spin-off of Curbed, a popular NYC real estate blog. The two sites have slightly different focuses: Curbed is involved in real estate and the related gossip, while the Gutter claims to offer "ill-mannered commentary on the architectural arts." However, the two sites share an interest in things like the continuing chaos in the Ground Zero rebuilding process, and an affinity for the cleverly worded snide remark.
New York Connection - Here is their self-description: "We're a bunch of frustrated New Yorkers who believe that this city should be the model for progressive change. We think that Mayor Bloomberg is a bad choice, that destroying neighborhoods for a new stadium is awful, and that the brain-dead political machine could use some shaking up."
Corante New York - Dominic Basulto, journalist covering technology and finance, writes this New York-centric blog. Basulto is fairly prolific (several posts each day), and eclectic (everything from New York's biotech brain drain to Dan Rather to Brooklyn's broadband black holes). More than just industry insiders and stock speculators will find interest in this site.
NYCivic - Founded in 2002 by former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, this one-man good-government group offers regular opinion pieces about an eclectic mix of public policy issues, and invites reader response.
The Daily Gotham - This blog consists of several authors' interpretations of local and national politics, coming from a liberal perspective. The blog also seeks to provide ammunition and motivation for potential political activists. On three consecutive days, Daily Gotham lamented the Parks Department's failure to keep up its out-of-the-way properties, advised its readers about a forum focused on lobbying for secure voting, and feared the impending retirement of a Supreme Court Justice.
Politarazzi - Newsday's political reporters contribute to this blog, focused almost exclusively these days on the mayoral race. It's not as prolific as the Observer's Politicker blog, but it's not nearly as arcane, either.(Update: This blog was abandoned)
NYPD Rant - Former police officer Edward Polstein started this busy Web site as a forum to discuss his own personal complaints about his job, and claims it ended up getting him fired (the police department denies this). Conversations revolve around policing, and range from what kind of guns officers are allowed to carry to whether the police union is "USELESS". Posts are often rude and can be filled with jargon because, as one recent visitor put it, "it's a place for NYPD cops to rant and gripe not to educate the masses about what MOS means or anything else."
Mr. Babylon - Mr. Babylon teaches at Bronx public high school, and writes lengthy, mildly obscene posts whose topics range from lighthearted (his quest to find something wrong with the A student's writing in which she ends up correcting his use of punctuation) to dead serious (having to help the "most notorious jerk" at the school because he is homeless and can't afford the $3 to buy a student identification card). The blog has been going on for about a year and a half, and it includes a list of other teacher's sites.
New York Hack - This fairly young blog depicts -- in words and photographs -- the life of a female New York City cab driver. There's the confrontation with a fare-skipper in front of a restaurant full of hostile teenagers, a point-by-point analysis of Taxi Driver Continuing Education course handbook, and, of course, ruminations about gas and traffic.
Power Plays - The Village Voice's political blog has regular updates on the horse race from its political reporters, plus a right-hand column full of fun extras like a Quote of the Day and Stats Amazing! -- which features quick statistical tidbits.
New York Connection - This blog is run by "a bunch of frustrated New Yorkers who believe that this city should be the model for progressive change." The writers are particularly frustrated with the Democrats working on Bloomberg's reelection campaign, which comes across in headlines like "bar Barowitz from the party", and "Get back to your log cabin, Ellner, you sell-out."
Alarming News - Alarmingnews.com is a quirky, witty personal and political blog by Karol Sheinin, a Russian-born, Brooklyn-bred political consultant “for right-leaning politicians and causes,” as she puts it, who often focuses on national rather than local issues (or sometimes just writes about the problems with her cell phone) but is very plugged into the New York blogosphere, linking to many (not just political) NYC blogs, and even organizing NYC blogger parties.
Backroom Deal Breaker - With the mayoral election over, a group of "outsiders with a unique view of the inside" have set up this blog of the next big race: the contest for City Council Speaker. It follows the ideas and actions of those running, and directs readers towards other things being written about it.
Overheard in New York - This site is a digest of the snippets of conversation that people overhear on the streets of the city, in entries that take about three seconds to read. There is a special focus on the profane or the idiotic. If you hear something that you want to share, you can also send it in -- the site is, as its editors claim, run by 8 million of their closest friends.
Big Apple Blog Festival - The Big Apple Blog Festival is a weekly feature that moves from blog to NYC blog, in which the host puts together a digest of what other bloggers in the city have written about over the last week. Clicking on this link will take you to whatever site is currently hosting the festival. The idea is to introduce readers of the host blog to new sites, and the mixture is pretty eclectic.
DMI Blog - The Drum Major Institute invites guests to help with its blog, which covers "politics, policy and the American Dream" on both a local and national level. Participants include community and political organizers, liberal issue advocates, and journalists.
Edwize - The United Federation of Teacher's blog contains material on both the labor and education aspects of education. It also maintains a lengthy roster of individual teachers' blogs, education blogs, and labor Web sites.?
Brooklyn Views - Since November 2005, Brooklyn architect Jonathan Cohn has been blogging about the Brooklyn Nets project. Cohn is critical of the plans, but he writes about why it's a bad piece of urban planning. Posts are fairly long, fairly sober, and some have charts!
Starts and Fits - This blog, written by urban planner Aaron Donovan, is focused on land use and transportation. It's a little bit chaotic in both design and form (one post relates a conversation overhead on the subway, and several, for some inexplicable reason, even talk about things happening outside of New York City). Along with this silliness, however, is serious discussion about planning and traffic issues.
The Walk Through - The New York Times real estate blog, the Walk-Through, covers things like how the Metro Card has changed the city's real estate market (they've been a boon, it turns out, for Clinton Hill), and how one rental agency has encouraged Williamsburg residents to ride Huffy bicycles. The blog is national in focus, but has plenty about New York City.
The Real Estate - The New York Observer's blog The Real Estate covers mixes in its own tidbits will roundups of what everyone else is writing about real estate, in New York City and beyond.
Eater - Eater is real estate blog Curbed's take on the city's food. Aside from regular entries, which cover various happenings around the city's food world, there are running lists of restaurants that have recently opened, closed, or been reviewed. Along the right side are several helpful search engines for foodies.
Gastropoda - Gastropoda is a regularly updated site written by Regina Schrambling, a Los Angeles Times writer working from New York. The Trails section [also called New York Minutes] has short reflections on city restaurants, while the Bites section is filled with thoughts on food that have floated through Schrambling's head.
The Daily Politics - Ben Smith of Politicker fame has left the Observer and is now writing a political blog for the Daily News. The gist is the same -- he's even imported his band of anonymous politicos to populate his new message board. (The main difference, it seems, is that the new blog features a picture of Smith where it looks like he's trying to get something out of his teeth.) We'll see if the Daily News gives Smith the freedom to continue to do his thing -- as of now his new employer is even allowing him to have a permanent link to the New York Post in his blogroll -- which is kind of like the USSR agreeing to allow the US to set up military bases outside of Moscow.
Urban Elephants - This group blog of local Republicans was founded by Slant Point's Scott Sala (who's taking a "semi-permanent break" from his own blog, which was more national in scope) its main focus is New York politics. It does, of course, make some room for the national partisan hot spots.
Stonewall Democrats NYC - The Stonewall Democrats, a local gay Democratic political club, recently added this blog to its Web site. So far, its focus has been leaning towards the national, but there's some New York politics and policy mixed in there as well.
Follow the Leader - The New York Press has started a blog which follows politics in New York City and State. It replaces the 51st State, which walked off the job in solidarity with Azi Paybarah, its author. Follow the Leader has the same kind of small bits on the horserace and slightly cheeky commentary as its predecessor.
WFP Blog - Local political party the Working Families Party finds the blog format useful -- where it can criticize Wal-Mart, hold legislation-naming contests, and endorse establishment candidates in special elections.
Working Families Party Man - In the spirit of the Web, here is an anonymous blog that uses a political party's name but has no actual affiliation to the party! (Of course, the Working Families Party links to it on its own blog, so it must not disapprove too strongly). Liberal politics and organizing, in New York and elsewhere.
Bikeblog - Brooklyn biker and filmmaker Michael Green offers dispatches from the biking activism front. There is a lot about group bike ride Critical Mass, as well as things like videos of stunt bikers riding in circles.
Room Eight - Room Nine is the room in City Hall where the political reporters hang out; this group blog hopes to be the cyber equivalent. Run by Ben Smith (now of the Daily News) and former Gifford Miller aid Gur Tsabar, it is intended to be an open forum where City Hall insiders can post freely.
51st State - The wandering blogger Azi Paybarah has pitched his tent at the New York Sun (after trying an independent blog, interning at the Politicker, and storming out of the New York Press). We make no guarantees that this link will still work by the time you read this. (Update: In fact, Paybarah moved back to The Politicker, and this blog ended in August, 2006)
Oil Drum New York City - This blog's stated purpose is "helping New Yorkers understand, prepare and adapt to the implications of Peak Oil." (For instance, a helpful page on the site explains that Peak Oil is the time when oil becomes too expensive to use it the way we do today). The blog's main topics are environmentally friendly urban planning and alternative energy development in New York.
onNYTurf - Blogging for political and community coverage of NYC's 5 Boroughs.
Save Our Parks! - A blog by local residents who are opposed to the taking of Macombs Dam and Mullaly parks by the Yankees for a new stadium.
Ballparks.com: New Yankee Stadium - This Web page has a quick overview of the plan for a new Yankee Stadium, part of a general site about baseball stadiums. It has a history of the politics behind it, links to news stories being published about its progress, and a list of recommended readings about historic stadiums and the economics of sports.
SoHo Politics - This blog covers SoHo's community political issues from the perspective of one resident, D. Clark Macpherson, a "fine art nude photographer" by trade. The posts are lengthy and rigorous, and if you're looking for a who's who of Community Board Two politics, this site is a good resource.
Polis - Blogging by journalist Lisa Chamberlain about city spaces and real estate.
Tropolism - We can’t properly describe tropolism in such a small space, go here to experience it.
Journal of a Photographer - This blog documents the life and career of Martin Fuchs, an Austrian born photojournalist living in New York. There is a mixture of photographs of stories he has covered in the city and elsewhere. Additionally, Fuchs posts items he hopes will "bring you insight views into the lifes of professional photographers."
True Gotham - On this blog, a group of real estate brokers and writers give readers "dispatches from the front lines of New York City Real Estate." Updates cover the movement of property values, policy related to real estate in NYC (like how to keep artists in their apartments) and the psychology of real estate brokers.
Changing the Court - This blog chronicles the efforts of the Center for Court Innovation, which is attempting to change the focus of the criminal justice system's approach to low-level criminal activity, focused more on social services and community service than incarceration.
Reform NY - The Brennan Center for Justice is already responsible for the words "country's most dysfunctional legislature" automatically being tacked on to any mention of New York's state government. It intends to keep the pressure on with this blog focused on reform in Albany.
The Skinny on Fat Blog - Free commuter newspaper AM New York has a blog focused on "fat and fitness issues." The postings range from developments in local health care policy to national health-related news to tips for New Yorkers trying to lose weight.
Gowanus Lounge - This blog covers "life and real estate development in post industrial Brooklyn and New York City." It keeps up with the local development battles, and on what's happening in and around the Gowanus Canal.
Brooklyn Record - Brooklyn Record is a spinoff of the popular Brooklyn real estate blog Brownstoner. It covers the entire borough with plenty of visuals, focusing on everything from crime to culture to the essential issue: property. The blog also has 25 'neighborhood archives' pages, so readers with an interest in a specific area can skip straight to the news they're after.
Set Speed - This Fort Greene-based blog keeps close tabs on local real estate. Its interest is split between big issues, like gentrification and the Atlantic Yards project, and the prices of local condos.
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn - This blog has been one of the most outspoken critics of the plan to build a basketball arena in Brooklyn. Its serves two purposes: 1) to convince people to oppose the project; and, 2) to show people who are already convinced how to mobilize against it.
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn - This blog, serving "Park Slope, New York, and Beyond," focuses more on the Brooklyn social life and less on, well, the proposed basketball arena, than many of the other blogs based in this area. The author is a mother, and one of her main concerns is how the Brooklyn baby boom is playing out in Park Slope.
Subway Blogger - Subway Blogger is a prolific blog about the daily grind of the subway rider. The site is far from the only transportation blog in the city (We have suggested several other blogs in the past), but this blog claims that it is unique because the posts are actually written and posted while the author is actually riding the subway, via Blackberry. So be careful the next time you're making fun of a straphanger furiously typing on one of those tiny keyboards -- they may be making fun of you.
Blogging the Bombers - Sam Borden, who covers the Yankees for the Daily News, keeps this blog, one of several running commentaries and diaries by sports reporters at the News.
Surfing The Mets - Adam Rubin, the Daily News beat reporter for the New York Mets, documents his travels with the team in this blog. His in-season entries include commentary from both before and after games, as well as interviews with players.
The Blue Screen - In his blog on the New York Giants, Daily News beat reporter Ralph Vacchiano covers the football team in a style that's a little lighter and more personal than readers of news articles may be accustomed to. Vacchiano's entries include weekly picks of games and more in-depth looks at the day-to-day activities of the team
West Bronx Blog - A blog associated with the West Bronx News Network, this site offers regular posts from the "editors, reporters and readers" of several community newspapers in the western Bronx.
Viewsday - The Newsday blog is more Long Island than NYC, but it has plenty of relevant posts about what's happening in Albany.
1199 for Cassino - The Riverdale Press, a nationally known award-winning community newspaper, serves one of New York City's most interesting and affluent communities. The Press provides comprehensive coverage of the Northwest Bronx, including Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights, Marble Hill, Spuyten Duyvil and Van Cortlandt Village. Each week it reaches 10,000 families with hard-hitting reporting, lively features, action-packed photographs and crusading editorials.